Jan. 15, 2013 2:36 p.m. | U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner will answer questions from constituents during a town hall meeting from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Public Safety Building courtroom, 2100 N. Calhoun Road.

10:15 a.m. | The construction worker who died at the Zoo Interchange project Feb. 28 "came into contact" with a drill rig while he was installing tiebacks on a retaining wall, according to Chris Zortman, Milwaukee area director for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA is investigating the incident with assistance from the Milwaukee County sheriff's office.

Although many details are still unknown, the sheriff's office has reported that 33-year-old Ryan C. Calkins of Brookfield was pronounced dead on the scene near Interstate 94 and 91st Street about 7:41 a.m. Feb. 28.

Fran McLaughlin, director of support services for the sheriff's office, said Calkins was involved in a "machinery accident" but did not clarify what happened because of the ongoing investigation. She said the sheriff's office and Brookfield police helped interview witnesses, notified family members, and are now assisting OSHA with its investigation.

March 02, 2015 7:26 p.m. | The Schwaab stamp company will be moving from its longtime location at 11415 W. Burleigh St., Wauwatosa, to a vacant building at 12855 W. Lisbon Road in Brookfield, officials say.

The Schwaab site on Burleigh Road was purchased in January by HSA Commercial Real Estate, developer of Tosa's Mayfair Collection, for $2.15 million, and is likely to be the site of a new shopping center by next year.

"The building is currently being held by an LLC, so Schwaab technically doesn't have the property, but we have plans to move there by June or July," Schwaab President Jeremiah McNeal said, referring to the Brookfield location.

McNeal says that location was an important factor in the search for a new building.

"Location really was key for us. It's very close to our existing building and we anticipate that we'll retain everybody when we move to the new location because it's so close," McNeal said.

After Central took a 21-13 first quarter lead behind 8 points by Busch, the Spartans rallied with an 11-2 second quarter and a 24-23 halftime lead. East won the third quarter, 7-5, as Mariah Miller hit a 3-point shot on the buzzer for a 31-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

But Brauer had 7 points and Busch 6 in the final 18-10 period and Central advances to the regional final at King at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Busch had 14 points, but had to battle Abby Gregg all night who faced guarded her most of the night. Brauer, who had a terrible first half shooting, kept shooting and scored 12 points in the game.

Miller had 15 points, and Angela Pichler had 13 to lead East, who committed some crucial turnovers down the stretch.

Feb. 26, 2015 2:02 p.m. | Mall officials say that the latest evolution of Brookfield Square is now under way.

The first step of this most recent expansion, which is technically Phase 6 in ongoing improvements, will see the addition of approximately 20,000 square feet of new space. This new structure will be located near the southern end of the mall, adjacent to Sears, and facing North Moorland Road. The project also includes the demolition of approximately 7,400 square feet currently occupied by Sears in order to make room.

"We are very excited to continue to deliver to our shoppers the best that dining and retail has to offer," Brookfield Square General Manager Scott Oleson said in a statement. "We are committed to reinvesting in our center and the community, and this expansion underscores our focus."

The new buildings will feature three new restaurants: Jason's Deli, Blackfinn Ameripub, and Mooyah Burger. More new stores are expected to be announced as the project continues.

Sereno will replace Director of Elementary Education Tammy Gibbons, who is resigning at the end of the school year.

Pilgrim Park's Associate Principal, Mark Peperkorn, will be the middle school's next principal.

"A critical responsibility of leadership is managing employee talent throughout the school district," Elmbrook Superintendent Mark Hansen stated in a news release. "We are very fortunate to have two, prove instructional leaders in Mike Sereno and Mark Peperkorn, and the opportunity to fill a key district role and a school leadership position at Pilgrim Park through internal promotions was an easy decision to make."

Feb. 23, 2015 10:31 p.m. | If a resident of Elm Grove asked the National Weather Service, they might be convinced that they are more safe from severe weather than residents of other communities.

On Monday night, the Elm Grove Board of Trustees was commended by the National Weather Service and forecasters James Wood and Bob McMahon for completing the StormReady program.

StormReady is a nationwide program that measures a community's preparedness for all types of severe weather. The program pushes communities to improve local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.

As of Feb. 23, there are 2,285 StormReady sites, including counties, communities, universities, and more, across 49 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Feb. 23, 2015 9:58 p.m. | The village of Elm Grove and the Elm Grove Business Association are hoping that in the months to come a partnership can be formed to increase the municipality's marketability.

The idea was first brought up in late 2014 and at Monday's board of trustees meeting, business association vice president Mary Inden briefed village officials on progress thus far.

"We've had two meetings. On the 18th of this month, we had a meeting in the evening which was not really well-attended," Inden said. "(But) we did come out with some nice ideas."

Inden noted that the business association feels that Elm Grove must improve its marketability both for the sake of existing businesses and to bring in new businesses.

"For businesses in Elm Grove, the first top market is of course Elm Grove residents," Inden said. "But then we do need to expand that neighborhood in order to keep our businesses busy."

Feb. 23, 2015 7:02 p.m. | The Elmbrook Humane Society's annual spring fundraiser is back with a new name and a new venue.

Called Wine and Whiskers in its first eight years, the humane society will host the event beginning at 5 p.m. March 21 at the Milwaukee Marriott West, W231 N1600 Corporate Court, Waukesha, under the name Spring Gala.

Elmbrook Humane Society executive director Heather Gehrke expects the event to attract between 250 and 300 people and raise close to $50,000 in gross proceeds, roughly in line with past years, and as much as $30,000 in net funds.

"This is a smaller, more quaint event. It's a dinner-type event. That's the major change with this. In the past we've had it set up as more of an hors d'ouvres and food station event with activities going on all around," Gehrke said. "This year, we're having it be more formal with a sit-down dinner."

Gehrke says that the change in format will allow for the humane society to more easily interact with the entire population of guests throughout the night. the evening will include a viewing of a video presentation that will encourage guests to donate specifically to the medical needs at the Elmbrook Humane Society.

Feb. 23, 2015 2:11 p.m. | A pair of Brookfield aldermen attended the Feb. 24 Waukesha County Board meeting with the hope of getting officials' attention regarding an upcoming project in the city.

The county is planning an expansion of North Avenue in the city of Brookfield between N. 124th Street and North Calhoun Road.

The expansion would at least double the width of the road, with the county's Department of Public Works planning to widen it from two lanes to four lanes to better handle traffic that exceeds 20,000 vehicles per day.

County officials said the threshold generally used for expanding a road to four lanes is 18,000 vehicles per day.

Aldermen Dan Sutton and Bill Carnell attended the meeting. Sutton planned to speak during the board's public comment portion of proceedings, but, because the topic wasn't on the agenda, he was not able to address the issue.

Feb. 19, 2015 4:50 p.m. | The former owners of a Brookfield title company have been charged with stealing more than $1.8 million from the company.

Timothy Kugler, 43, and Lisa Verken, 41, (formerly known as Lisa Kugler) of West Bend, and Michelle Hayes, 46, of Wauwatosa face counts of bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud and filing false tax returns, according to a grand jury indictment announced Thursday.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, the trio diverted mortgage lender money from an escrow account at New Horizon LLC into a different account, and then wrote checks to themselves from that account.

They withheld settlement funds at closings and told bank employees that overdrafts in the New Horizon escrow were due to tardy wire transfers of funds from lenders, and later altered bank records to try to hide the fraud from auditors working for New Horizon's insurance underwriter.

None of the defendants reported the money as income on their 2008 and 2009 tax returns, according to the indictment.

Feb. 19, 2015 12:37 p.m. | The town of Brookfield's Town Board approved a developer's agreement Wednesday night for a long-awaited project set for 19 acres between Bluemound Road and I-94, east of Barker Road.

The Corners, a 750,000 square-foot mixed use development, is now projected to have a formal groundbreaking this spring. Officials hopes that the project can be completed in the Fall of 2016.

"It's taken a long time to reach these agreements, but the time wasn't wasted," Brookfield Town Administrator Rick Czopp said. "We're all excited and we're ready for them to start."

Experienced developers on board

The Marcus Corp. has announced that Chicago-based Bradford Real Estate Companies and IM Properties, based across the pond in the United Kingdom, will be joining it on the project. IM Properties and Bradford Real Estate will serve as the managing member with Marcus staying on as a minority partner.

The district's Chinese language program will host the event, which will celebrate the Chinese Year of the Ram.

The celebration will include many traditional Chinese activities, such as Taichi, Chinese acupuncture and Chinese caligraphy. Chinese food will be prepared by Elmbrook parents. Dumplings and homemade egg rolls will be sold for $1.50 each.

Visitors will also enjoy ping-pong, a chopsticks competition and paper lanterns.

Local organizations International Institue of Holistic Medicine-USA and JK Taewonto will also be present for the celebrations.